Bridgewater ZBA approves illuminated billboards along Route 495

The proposed casino at Lakeshore Center in Bridgewater may be on the back burner, but the landowners are moving forward with two other projects elsewhere on the 171-acre site across from Lake Nippenicket. On Nov. 20, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to approve a use variance for two large illum...

By Rebecca Hyman

The Enterprise, Brockton, MA

By Rebecca Hyman

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 5, 2013 at 5:15 AM

By Rebecca Hyman

Posted Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 5, 2013 at 5:15 AM

Bridgewater

» Social News

The proposed casino at Lakeshore Center in Bridgewater may be on the back burner, but the landowners are moving forward with two other projects elsewhere on the 171-acre site across from Lake Nippenicket.

On Nov. 20, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to approve a use variance for two large illuminated billboards on a section of the land along Route 495 — though the board has not yet issued its written decision.

And the ZBA is currently considering a request for a 289-unit apartment development on the site under the state’s affordable housing law, known as 40B. The proposal includes three five-story buildings, a one-story clubhouse and 525 parking spaces.

Claremont Companies is the owner of the entire site, which is home to one office building, where Claremont, a real estate, development and asset management firm, is headquartered.

In the case of the LED billboards, Outcepts Consulting and Management LLC is the applicant, and for the 40B, Claremont Bridgewater II, LLC is the applicant.

The proposed digital advertising billboards will be 70 feet high and 672 square feet and will be located along Route 495 very close to the Raynham line more than 1,500 feet from the nearest house, according to the application.

“The billboards will only be visible from Route 495 and therefore will not adversely affect the neighboring properties,” according to a “variance justification” statement from the applicant.

But several residents who attended the hearing in August expressed concerns about potential glare from the billboards along the lake and their impact on an environmentally important area.

But the applicant said the “passive nature of the proposed billboards “ fits well with the sensitive nature of the land as a habitat for endangered box turtles.

The applicant also said the town would benefit from granting the variance in the form of fees paid for the billboard.

“Since the desire to locate billboards along Route 495 is high, not granting the relief will encourage petitions in the neighboring town of Raynham. If the advertising billboards were to be located just over the line, the structures would not be hidden by the vegetation and the opportunity for revenue of this passive use will be lost,” the applicant stated.

Bridgewater’s zoning bylaws do not permit billboards anywhere in town. Town Planner Greg Guimond said he believes several existing billboards predate the bylaws and are grandfathered. The only way new billboards can be erected is if the ZBA approves a use variance, as in this case.

In a Sept. 18 email to the ZBA, Guimond expressed reservations about granting the variance.

“The proposed billboards would have limited benefit to the residents of Bridgewater and may serve as more of a distraction to high speed travel on Interstate Route 495 than a benefit,” he wrote.

As for the 40B, the applicant originally proposed five four-story buildings along Route 104, set back about 150 feet, across from Lake Nippenicket west of the existing office building.

Page 2 of 2 - The buildings would contain a total of 289 apartments, including 108 one-bedroom, 167 two-bedroom and 14 three-bedroom units. Twenty-five percent of the units, or 73, would be reserved for moderate-income families at a reduced rent, as is required by the 40B law.

But the applicant has revised the plan and is now proposing three five-story buildings. The rest of the plan has not changed, including the total number of units and the unit mix, according to a Nov. 28 letter from the applicant’s attorney, Freeman Law Group LLC of Yarmouthport.

Guimond said the town’s zoning bylaws do not permit any building, residential or commercial, to be taller than three stories.

But the 40B law allows developers to bypass many aspects of local zoning in exchange for building affordable housing.

Several residents spoke in opposition to the 40B proposal at continuances of the hearing in July and September, citing environmental, traffic and infrastructure concerns, among others.

The ZBA has not yet voted on Claremont’s 40B special permit application and has continued the hearing to March 19.